The Experiences of Community‐dwelling older adults during the COVID‐19 Lockdown in Wuhan: A qualitative study

Abstract

Aims To explore the experiences of community‐dwelling older adults in Wuhan during the coronavirus disease 2019 lockdown. Design An empirical phenomenological approach was used to conduct a qualitative study. Methods We performed semi‐structured, in‐depth telephone interviews between July 24 and August 2, 2020. A purposive sample of 18 participants (≥65 years old) who lived in Wuhan during the lockdown was recruited, including both infected and uninfected people. Data summarization and theme categories refinement were performed following Colaizzi's phenomenological approach. Results Four main theme categories emerged. First, the ‘Challenges’ posed by the epidemic. Older adults were challenged with barriers in seeing a doctor and daily life inconveniences. And they experienced negative emotions, whether infected or not. The second domain was ‘multi‐dimensional support’, which helped older people went through the difficult period. The third domain was ‘resilience amid challenges’. Although they experienced physical and psychological distress, most of them could self‐adjust and achieve transcendence from the unique experience. Lastly, the remaining impact after the epidemic affected older adults. Some still had mental burdens, while others thought they have benefited from the quarantine time (e.g. regular diet, learning new skills). Conclusion The epidemic and lockdown of the city brought significant physical and mental challenges to community‐dwelling older adults. Active adaptation and multifaceted support helped them through this period. However, the mental burdens after the epidemic still require attention. These experiences would provide guidelines for the protection of vulnerable populations during public health emergencies. Impact The results of the study suggested that certain social dynamics and individual behaviours helped the elderly to better cope with the stressful lockdown period. The findings in this study provided guidelines on how to reduce the negative effects on older adults during the pandemic and enlighten studies concerning the well‐being of older adults or other vulnerable people in future crises.

How Has the Nationwide Public Health Emergency of the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Older Chinese Adults' Health Literacy, Health Behaviors and Practices, and Social Connectedness? Qualitative Evidence From Urban China

“…Older adults can and do avoid isolation and loneliness and reduce health anxiety during the pandemic through receiving necessary emotional, financial, or other support from important social connections with families, friends, and neighbors ( 28 , 64 , 65 ). Moreover, these findings are consistent with existing ones that demonstrate that, with the assistance of ICTs, older adults can get timely health information and other health-promoting resources from robust connections ( 16 , 54 ).…”

“…The COVID-19 crisis thus calls for urgent academic attention to underlying pathological and social factors contributing to the ways that older adults are confronted with possible health issues due to the pandemic. Additionally, in the Chinese context, existing studies have explored people's coping strategies toward pandemic risks, such as doing exercises at home and contacting community workers via online services ( 15 , 16 ). However, more comprehensive research is needed to detect how older Chinese responded to the pandemic, and whether and how the pandemic has affected older Chinese's health literacy, health behaviors and practices, as well as social connectedness.…”

“…Despite these crucial findings, interviewees recruited were aged between 18 and 60; there was no focus on the older population. Another important study was done by Yang and associates ( 16 ). The researchers interviewed 18 older adults aged 65 and above to investigate their experiences during the lockdown in 2020 in Wuhan.…”

“…Sørensen et al ( 52 ) further put forward four dimensions of health literacy: access, understanding, appraisal, and application of health information. Getting access to health information and adjusting health behaviors have been argued as effective coping strategies during the pandemic quarantine ( 15 , 16 ). Additionally, more comprehensive dimensions of older adults' access to health information, their understanding and evaluation of health information, as well as using health information as primarily indicated by any changes and improvements in health behaviors, yet remain unknown.…”

“…The other literature gap is that not many academic efforts focusing on the Chinese context are qualitative. Two of the very few qualitative studies exploring Chinese people's involvement, experiences, and coping strategies under the pandemic were conducted by Chen and associates ( 15 ) and Yang and colleagues ( 16 ). This dearth in the literature results in little known about older Chinese adults' actual life experiences and feelings related to the pandemic.…”